EU Court of Auditors:

Food labeling is often misleading

Austria does not use a "Nutri-Score" on its food products.(Bild: AFP/Loic Venance)

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) published a special report on food labeling in the EU on Monday. In this report, it criticized the fact that hundreds of different labelling systems and incomplete legislation encourage consumer deception.

European consumers were being bombarded with more and more seals of approval, logos and ratings on food. These could not only be confusing, but also misleading, criticizes the ECA in its report.

"Confusion instead of clarity"
"Instead of providing clarity, food labels often lead to confusion; there are hundreds of different labeling systems, advertising claims and logos that shoppers have to decipher," said Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, the ECA member responsible for the audit, at a press conference on Monday.

"Companies are being very creative with the information on the packaging. EU rules are not keeping pace with the constantly evolving market, meaning that around 450 million consumers are intentionally or unintentionally exposed to misleading messages."

Labels should actually help
Food labels are supposed to help people make informed decisions when shopping, according to the auditors. Labels contain information about the content and properties of food. Manufacturers also often try to make products more attractive by emphasizing alleged benefits such as "healthy", "organic" or "gluten-free". The report emphasizes that the EU regulations guarantee basic information on labels.

However, major shortcomings in the regulations were also identified: Even products with a high fat, sugar or salt content are allowed to be labeled as "healthy" or "nutritious", for example sugary energy bars as "high-protein products".

Nutritional information on the front of packaging such as "Nutri-Score" or "NutrInform" is not used in all EU countries, as none of the systems have really caught on, the report continues. These misleading tendencies are reinforced by the flood of voluntary labels, logos and claims.

Austria does not use a "Nutri-Score"
 According to the ECA, Austria is one of 15 EU countries that do not have a specific recommendation regarding nutritional information on the front of packaging. Germany, France and the Benelux countries, for example, recommend the use of the "Nutri-Score" label.

The report also includes an analysis of annual food labeling inspections. According to the ECA, more than three quarters of all inspections in Austria focused on checking the origin label, while other EU countries focused on animal products or other products.

"Vegan" and "vegetarian" not regulated
The ECA also criticizes that some consumers may even feel disadvantaged by labels. According to the report, vegetarians and vegans are particularly affected: The use of the labels "vegan" or "vegetarian" is not regulated, as there is no EU-wide definition.

The report therefore urgently recommends that the EU Commission close the gaps in the EU legal framework and regularly analyze labelling practices. The Commission should encourage Member States to strengthen their controls on voluntary labeling and online retailing by providing guidance and examples of best practice. Awareness campaigns or guides should help consumers to better understand food labeling.